Baylor Honors College Welcomes Robert N. McClelland, M.D., for Lecture on 'Parkland Hospital, November 1963'

WACO, Texas (Oct. 18, 2013) - The Baylor Honors College has invited Robert M. McClelland, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, to speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in Barfield Drawing Room.

McClelland will speak about his experiences caring for President Kennedy, operating on Lee Harvey Oswald and testifying before the Warren Commission in his lecture titled, "Parkland Hospital, November 1963: John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald."

After completing his residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas in 1962, McClelland joined the faculty of Southwestern Medical School, where he retired 45 years later. After his retirement, he was appointed a Professor Emeritus of Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Bill Nielson, M.D., a senior lecturer and clinical professor in the Honors College at Baylor, said McClelland has influenced many people with his teaching and speaking.

"He has spent almost 50 years as a Christian educator in a secular university and has impacted the lives of literally hundreds of surgeons who practice medicine globally," he said. "He is widely considered the leading surgical educator of the latter half of the 20th century."

McClelland has a unique perspective on the assassination of JFK, Nielson said.

"Our hope is that those who attend the lecture will have a deeper appreciation of the intense and traumatic events that occurred in the Parkland ER and how those events continue to impact the lives of all Americans," he said.

Those interested in a variety of subjects are invited to attend the lecture.

"The lecture will be of interest to virtually everyone," Nielson said. "The clinical aspects of the ER events will fascinate health students, those interested in history will be able to hear an eyewitness account of JFK's assassination, people intrigued by the political process will hear about the Warren Commission and those focused on the human condition will learn of the emotional trauma experienced by those involved in caring for President Kennedy."

The lecture is free and open to the public. Barfield Drawing Room is located in the Bill Daniel Student Union Center, 1311 S. Fifth St.

Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.